The US Senate voted Thursday to end debate on the most sweeping rewrite of Wall Street rules since the Great Depression of the 1930s, setting the stage for final approval of the historic legislation.
The 60-38 vote -- with just three Republicans breaking ranks to join all but one Democrat in favor of the legislation -- cleared the way for virtually certain passage in a ballot scheduled for shortly after 2:00 pm (1800 GMT).
The 2,300-page measure, President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, aims to rein in risky investment practices blamed for the 2007-2009 global financial meltdown and give regulators an arsenal of new weapons.
Just three Republicans -- Senators Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Scott Brown -- voted for the measure. Democratic Senator Russell Feingold voted against it. Republican Senator Mike Crapo did not vote.
Senators were due to vote at 2:00 pm (1800 GMT) to clear a final procedural obstacle -- a point of order charging the bill violates Senate budgetary rules -- before proceeding immediately thereafter to final passage.
Copyright 2010 AFP American Edition
